College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017

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POLI 341: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT

Session 1 – The Nature and Scope of

Political Theory

Lecturers: Dr. E. Aggrey-Darkoh & Mr Alex K.D. Frempong

Department of Political Science

Contact Information: eaggrey-darkoh@ug.edu.gh &kaadupong2002@yahoo.co.uk

godsonug.wordpress.com/blog

Session Overview

• This session covers the nature and scope of political theory and Greek political and social institutions.

• Political theory is basically the attempt by man to find solutions to the problems of his political society.

• We want to assure you that political thought is not abstract as many of you might believe.

• It is both normative (what ought to be) and empirical (fact).

• We expect that you will fully commit yourself to this unit as it lays the foundation for the subsequent topics in the course.

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Session outline

• This session covers the following topics:

• Definition of Political Theory

• The Distinction between Political Theory, Political Thought, Political Philosophy and Political Science

• Political Theory and Political Philosophy

• Political Theory and Political Science

• Characteristics of Political Theory

• The Importance of Political Theory 3

TOPIC ONE

POLITICAL THEORY

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What is Political Theory?

• PolitiĐal theorLJ is ŵaŶs atteŵpt to ĐoŶsĐiouslLJ understand and solve the problems of his group life and organisation.

• It is an intellectual tradition and its history consists of the eǀ olutioŶ of ŵeŶs thought aďout politiĐal problems over time.

• More specifically, political theory is the disciplined investigation of the political problems.

• The word theory comes from the Greek word theoria- ŵeaŶiŶg ǀ ieǁ i Ŷg , speĐulatioŶ or ĐoŶteŵplatioŶ.

• At the ŵost geŶeral leǀ el, politiĐal theorLJ is a ďodLJ of kŶoǁ l edge related to the pheŶoŵeŶoŶ of the state.

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What is PolitiĐal TheorLJ? ;ĐoŶt dͿ

• AĐĐordiŶg to Daǀ id Held ;1991Ϳ, politiĐal theorLJ is a Ŷet ǁ ork of concepts and generalizations about political life involving ideas, assumptions and statements about the nature, purpose and key features of government, state and society, and about the politiĐal Đapaďilities of huŵaŶ ďeiŶgs.

• Political theory seeks to understand, explain and analyse the political phenomena and describe ways and means to rectify the shortcomings.

• To Andrew Hacker (1961), political theory is a combination of a disinterested search for the principles of good state and good society on the one hand, and a disinterested search for knowledge of political and social reality on the other.

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What is PolitiĐal TheorLJ? ;CoŶt dͿ

• To W. C. Coker (1971), when political government and its forms and activities are studied not simply as facts to be described and compared or judged in reference to their immediate and temporal effects, but as facts to be understood and appraised in relation to the constants need, desires and opinions of men, then we have political theory.

• To Gould and Kolb (1964), political theory is a subfield of political science which includes:

• Political philosophy, which is concerned with a moral theory of politics and a historical study of political

ideas, 7

What is PolitiĐal TheorLJ ? ;CoŶt dͿ

• A scientific criterion, • A linguistic analysis of political ideas, • The discovery and systematic development of generalizations

about political behaviour. • On the basis of the above definitions, we can conclude that

political theory is concerned with the study of the phenomena of the state both in philosophical as well as empirical terms.

• It does not only involve explanation, description and prescription regarding the state and political institutions but also the evaluation of their moral philosophical purpose.

• It is not only concerned with what the state is but also what it ought to be.

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What is PolitiĐal TheorLJ? ;CoŶt dͿ

• Political theorists concern themselves with a number of questions some of which include:

• What is power? • Is democracy possible? • What are ĐitizeŶs oďligatioŶs • Who should be a sovereign within a given community? • Do we live in a free society? • When does a government become illegitimate? • What should be the role of the state? • Why do people have to obey the state or the

sovereign? Etc 9

TOPIC TWO

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN POLITICAL

THEORY AND POLITICAL THOUGHT, POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICAL

SCIENCE

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Political Theory and Political Thought

• Political thought is the general thought comprising of theories and values of all those persons or sections of the community who think and write on the day-to-day activities, policies and decisions of the state, and which has a bearing on our present living.

• These persons can be philosophers, writers, journalists, poets, political commentators etc.

• Whenever and wherever political and social institutions exist, there are bound to be political activities as well as problem.

• Some individuals in the society where these institutions exist are bound to concern themselves with these problems.

• Whenever there are political activities, there is bound to be thought.

• Political activities go hand in hand with thought. 11

Political Theory and Political Thought ;cont’dͿ

• Political thought is therefore defined as an aspect of the ways in which people in a given political area

behave towards themselves and the political institutions of the society.

• This aspeĐt Đo ǀers peoples attitudes, ǀ alues, ďeliefs and perceptions about political phenomena.

• Political thought deals with political matters in a

manner that is meant to be relevant for political life, therefore its subject must be identical with the goals of good life. 12

Political Theory and Political Thought ;cont’dͿ

• Political thought also involves the exposition of political ideas.

• When we discuss contemporary political issues, we employ ideas and concepts and ways of thinking about the language in which we have inherited them from the past.

• These ideas and languages inform our understanding of concepts like citizenship and shape our social and political ideals.

• There is no better way of making ourselves aware of the precise meaning and the nuances of the terms involved than becoming acquainted with the key thinkers who helped to shape the way we understand them.

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Political Theory and Political Thought ;cont’dͿ

• Where political problems arise, efforts are made to find solutions to these problems.

• These efforts you need to note involve thought. There cannot be a pragmatic politics without thought.

• In point of fact, politics without or devoid of thought is the politics of mad men.

• Thinking about political activities need not be intellectually abstract in order to fall under the designation, political thought.

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Political Theory and Political Thought ;cont’dͿ

• Political thought on the other hand has no fixed form and can be in the form of treatise, speeches, political commentaries etc.

• Political thought is time bound since the policies and programmes of the governments change from time to time.

• Political theory, on the other hand, is the systematic speculation of a particular writer who talks specifically about the phenomena of the state.

• This speculation is based on certain hypothesis which may or may not be valid and may be open to criticisms.

• Theory normally provides a model of explanation of political reality as is understood by the writer.

• If this is granted, then one can infer that there can be different political theories of the same period.

• Also political theory is based on certain discipline- be it philosophy, history, economics or sociology. 15

Political Theory and Political Thought ;cont’dͿ

• Lastly, since the task of theory is not only to explain the political reality but also to change it or to resist change, political theory can be conservative, critical or revolutionary.

• Barker has argued that while political thought is the immanent philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular thinker.

• While political thought is implicit and immersed in the stream of vital action, political theory is explicit and may be detached from the political reality of a particular period.

• All political activities aim at either preservation or change. When desiring to preserve, we wish to prevent a change to the worse.

• When desiring to change, we wish to bring about something better. All political actions are guided by some thought of better or worse. The thought of better or worse implies the thought of the good.

• Every political action has in itself directedness towards knowledge of the good, which is knowledge of the good life or of the good society.

• It therefore implies that where men direct their efforts at acquiring knowledge of the good life and a good society, political thought or philosophy emerges.

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Political Theory and Political Philosophy

• PhilosophLJ is Đalled sĐieŶĐe of ǁ i sdoŵ, - wisdom is about this world, man or God.

• The wisdom is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. • Generally, philosophy is concerned with the quest for

wisdom, the quest for universal knowledge, the quest for the whole truth.

• Philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the quest for the truth.

• When this wisdom is applied to the study of political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy.

• Political philosophy is a serious attempt to replace opinion about the nature of political things by the knowledge of the nature of political things.

• It is also concerned with the right or the good political ord1e7 r.

Political Theory and Political Philosophy ;cont’dͿ

• Political philosophers are generally concerned with what is accessible to the unassisted human mind.

• Political philosophy is the attempt to truly know both the nature of political things and the right, or the good, political order.

• Political philosophy belongs to the category of normative political theory.

• It is ĐoŶĐerŶed ǁ i th Ŷot oŶlLJ edžplaiŶiŶg ǁhat is ďut also ǁhat ought to ďe.

• Political philosophy is not concerned with contemporary issues but with certain universal issues in the political life of man such as – nature and purpose of the political organisation, – basis of political authority, – nature of rights, – liberty, – justice etc. 18

Political Theory and Political Philosophy ;cont’dͿ

• The distinction between political philosophy and political theory is explained by the fact that whereas a political philosopher is a political theorist, but a political theorist may not necessarily be a political philosopher.

• All political philosophy is political thought but not all political thought is political philosophy.

• Political thought is as such indifferent to the distinction between opinion and knowledge; but political philosophy is the conscious, coherent, and relentless effort to replace opinions about the political fundamentals by knowledge regarding them.

• For instance, David Easton is an eminent political theorist but is not considered a political philosopher.

• Though theory deals with the same issues as political philosophy, it can explain them both from philosophical as well as empirical points of view.

• While political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political theory can be both normative and empirical.

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Political Theory and Political Philosophy ;cont’dͿ

• A political theorist is as much interested in explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behaviour, the actual relations between the state and citizens, and the role of power in the society.

• Philosophical explanations are theories too, but they are non- scientific.

• Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and aspirations that form the basis of those institutions.

• We can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, yet if political theory is separated from political philosophy, its meaning will appear distorted and it will prove barren and irrelevant.

• Theory must be supplemented by philosophy. • The distiŶĐtiǀ e feature or trait of the philosopher is that he kŶoǁ s

that he kŶoǁ s ŶothiŶg aŶd his iŶsight iŶto our igŶoraŶĐe ĐoŶĐerŶiŶg the most important things induces him to strive with all his power for knowledge. 20

Political Theory and Political Philosophy ;cont’dͿ

• By political thought we understand the reflection on, or the exposition of, political ideas; and by political ideas we may understand any politically significant phantasm, notions, species etc.

• The historLJ of politiĐal thought ĐoŶsists of the eǀ olutioŶ of ŵaŶs thought aďout political problems.

• The history of political thought is part of the social milieu in which politics itself has evolved.

• It is concerned with appreciation attempts made by some gifted individuals like Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Kant and Descartes

• The rationale is to gain understanding and have knowledge of political experiences of environments not only of their society but also of other societies.

• Political thought, political philosophy as practiced in the past differs from the scientific type of theory because it was normative rather than positive.

• Scientific theory is concerned with positive fact, that is, what is the case, what we see and feel.

• Whereas normative theory is concerned with the establishment of norms or ideal standards for society and government which tell us what ought to be the case.

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Political Science and Theory and Political

• Political Science includes different forms of speculation in politics such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political ideology, comparative politics, public administration, international law, political methodology, policy analysis, organisation theory etc.

• Political theory is one of the sub-fields of Political Science. • Hoǁ e ǀer, ǁheŶ used ǁ i th eŵphasis oŶ sĐieŶĐe as distiŶĐt froŵ

theorLJ, politiĐal sĐieŶĐe refers to the studLJ of politiĐs ďLJ the use of scientific methods in contrast to political philosophy which is free to follow intuition.

• Political theory when opposed to political philosophy is political science.

• Political Science is concerned with describing and explaining the realities of political behaviour, generalizations about man and political institutions on empirical evidence, and the role of power in the society. 22

Political Science and Theory and Political ;cont’dͿ

• Political theory, on the other hand, is not only concerned with the behavioural study of the political phenomena from empirical point of view but also prescribing the goals which states, governments, societies and citizens ought to pursue.

• Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in the political life and about the legitimate use of power.

• Thus political theory is neither pure thought nor philosophy, nor science.

• While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them.

• Contemporary political theory is trying to attempt a synthesis

between political philosophy and political science. 23

TOPIC THREE

CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICAL THEORY

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What are the Characteristics of Political Theory?

• Political theory is an intellectual and moral creation of man. – Generally, it is the speculation of a single individual who is attempting to offer us a

theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e. the phenomena of the state. – Every theory is by its very nature an explanation, built upon certain hypothesis which

may be valid or not and which are always open to criticism. – In political theory a number of attempts are made by thinkers from Plato onwards to

uŶraǀ el the ŵLJsteries of ŵaŶs politiĐal life. – Political theory is largely an attempt to seek the truth as the thinker sees it is usually

through a treatise.

• Secondly, political theory contains an explanation of man, society and history. – It probes the nature of man and society; how a society is made up and

how it works; what are the important elements; what are the sources of conflict in the society and how they can be resolved etc.

• Thirdly, political theory is discipline based. – It means that though the phenomena which the theorist seeks to

explain remains the same i.e. the state, the writer may be a philosopher, historian, economist, theologian or a sociologist. 25

What are the Characteristics of Political TheorLJ? ;CoŶt dͿ

• Fourthly, political theory not only comprehends and explains the social and political reality but is also actively engaged in hastening the process of history. – The task of political theory is not only to understand and explain but also to

device ways and means to change the society. – As Laski puts it, the task is not merely one of description of what it is but also a

prescription of what ought to be. – Thus political theory recommends agencies of action as well as means of

reform, revolution or conservation. – It contains programmes that embody both ends and means. – Political theory plays a double role: to understand society and to suggest how

to remove the imperfections. • Finally, political theory also includes political ideology.

– IdeologLJ iŶ siŵple laŶguage ŵeaŶs a sLJsteŵ of ďeliefs, ǀ alues, aŶd ideals ďLJ ǁh iĐh people alloǁ theŵselǀ es to ďe goǀ erŶed. We fiŶd a Ŷuŵďer of ideologies in the modern world such as liberalism, Marxism, Socialism etc.

– All political theories from Plato to date reflect a distinct ideology of the writer. • In fine, political theory is associated with the explanation and evaluation of the

political phenomena. 26

The Importance of Political Theory

• Political theory is a form of all embracing system of values which a society adopts as its ideal with a view to understand the political reality and, if necessary, to change it.

• The importance of political theory lies in providing; (i) a description of the political phenomena, (ii) a non-scientific (based upon philosophy or religion) or a scientific (based on empirical studies) explanations, (iii) proposals for the selection of political goals and political action and (iv) moral judgement.

• The significance of theory lies in evolving various doctrines and approaches regarding the nature and purpose of the state, the bases of political authority, vision of an ideal state, best form of government, relations between the state and the individual and the basic issues such as rights, liberty, equality, property, justice etc.

• The task of political theory is to study and analyse more profoundly than others, the immediate and potential problems of political life of the society and to supply the practical politician with an alternative course of action, the consequences of which have been fully thought of.

• Political Thought provides systematic thinking about the nature and purpose of

state and government. 27

The Importance of Political Theory

• It helps us to understand the nature or the socio-economic system and its problems like poverty, violence, corruption, ethnicity, etc.

• It is misleading to conclude that political theory is just normative. One cannot deny the fact that many of the political philosophers

sought to establish an ideal form of society. It is, however, false to

conclude that this was their only preoccupation.

• Traditional political theory apart from being normative has two

related objective. These include:

• 1. The clarification of political concepts

• 2. The critical evaluation of political opinion and beliefs

• Thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes etc. sought to apply philosophical thinking to ideas about the state and society.

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